NFL Draft

The NFL has released the list of draft-eligible underclassmen who have received special eligibility for the 2022 draft. 

The full list includes 73 players, highlighted by LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean. 

The names of the 73 players who have been granted special eligibility for the 2022 NFL Draft and 27 underclassmen who have fulfilled their degree requirements with college football eligibility remaining and are also eligible for selection in the April 28-30 Draft in Las Vegas: pic.twitter.com/rqotxuDGg9

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 21, 2022

Players are allowed to receive special eligibility for the draft as long as they are at least three years removed from graduating high school and submitted a written application to the NFL renouncing their remaining college eligibility. 

The biggest names on the list are Stingley, Dean, Ikem Ekwonu, Evan Neal and Drake London. 

Per B/R's updated big board, Ekwonu, Neal and London are top-five prospects in the 2022 draft class. Stingley is No. 8 overall, and Dean is the top-ranked linebacker (No. 21 overall). 

B/R's Brandon Thorn compared Ekwonu to six-time All-Pro Jason Peters as a prospect. 

Dean was one of the key players for the College Football Playoff national champions that led the nation in scoring (10.2 points allowed per game) and finished second in yards allowed (268.9). He won the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker. 

Stingley's 2021 season was limited by injuries. The cornerback only played in three games because of a foot injury that required surgery in October. The Louisiana native was a consensus All-American as a freshman in 2019 when the Tigers won the national championship.

The 2022 NFL draft will take place from April 28-30 from Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. 

Players are allowed to receive special eligibility for the draft as long as they are at least three years removed from graduating high school and submitted a written application to the NFL renouncing their remaining college eligibility. 

The biggest names on the list are Stingley, Dean, Ikem Ekwonu, Evan Neal and Drake London. 

Per B/R's updated big board, Ekwonu, Neal and London are top-five prospects in the 2022 draft class. Stingley is No. 8 overall, and Dean is the top-ranked linebacker (No. 21 overall). 

B/R's Brandon Thorn compared Ekwonu to six-time All-Pro Jason Peters as a prospect. 

Dean was one of the key players for the College Football Playoff national champions that led the nation in scoring defense (10.2 points allowed per game) and finished second in yards allowed (268.9). He won the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker. 

Stingley's 2021 season was limited by injuries. The cornerback only played in three games because of a foot injury that required surgery in October. The Louisiana native was a consensus All-American as a freshman in 2019 when the Tigers won the national championship.

The football world has become accustomed to seeing quarterbacks taken first overall in the NFL draft. It happened in each of the past four years and six of the last seven. However, there's a very good chance that it doesn't happen this year.

The 2022 quarterback class is not seen as a particularly strong one. Only two quarterback prospects—Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder and Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett—are ranked in the top 50 on the latest Bleacher Report Scouting Department big board.

Ridder and Pickett were the only quarterbacks to go in the Scouting Department's end-of-season mock draft too—with Ridder coming off the board ninth overall.

There's a chance, however, that a wild card emerges and winds up in the first round as well—possibly even being the first or second quarterback off the board. That wild card is Liberty quarterback Malik Willis.

    

"The Most Talented Quarterback in This Class"

There's a lot to be said for a draft prospect's floor. Even if a player doesn't have the greatest upside, he can be an early draft pick based on his potential for immediate contributions. Just take a look at former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, a traditional pocket passer who helped the New England Patriots reach the playoffs this season.

Will Jones be a better quarterback than Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson or Trey Lance three years from now? Maybe, but he doesn't have the athletic potential of the four signal-callers taken ahead of him.

Willis doesn't have the safe floor of Jones, but he has the type of toolbox that could catapult him past Ridder and Pickett by draft day. He's a legitimate dual-threat in the mold of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Like Hurts, Willis could be playing in the postseason early, if he lands in the right situation. That lack of NFL readiness, however, makes him a very polarizing prospect.

The B/R Scouting Department pegs Willis as a third-round prospect, the sort of boom-or-bust quarterback that makes for a touch evaluation. Here's some of what scout Nate Tice wrote in his evaluation:

"Willis is a fun player to watch with his arm strength, and he's truly dynamic with the ball in his hands. But he will need a huge jump in polish with his pocket movements, progression on dropback concepts, anticipation on throws—especially over the middle of the field—and overall process to end up being an every-week starter in the NFL"

While a quarterback's floor is important, some teams are going to look at what Willis can be in a few years rather than right away. From that angle, he may be the best prospect in a weak quarterback class.

"The more tape I watch of his past two seasons and the more I talk to evaluators in the league, the more I like him," ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. wrote in his latest mock. "Put simply, Willis is the most talented quarterback in this class."

Kiper mocked Willis at No. 11 to the Washington Football Team. That's far different than the Bleacher Report Scouting Department, which didn't have him in its latest first-round mock. 

Where will Willis ultimately land on draft day? That might come down to the predraft process.

     

"Evaluators Are Taught to See Strengths"

From a size and skill-set standpoint, Willis reminds me quite a bit of Hurts. At 6'1' and 225 pounds (Hurts is 6'1", 223 lbs), he's thickly built and physically suited to take the punishment that can come with playing quarterback in the NFL.

Also like Hurts, Willis has the arm talent to make all of the throws and the athleticism to chew up yards on designed runs and improvised scrambles.

This past season, Willis threw for 2,857 yards and 27 touchdowns while rushing for 878 yards and 13 scores.

From a situational standpoint, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is a more apt comparison. While Hurts played with NFL talent at Alabama and Oklahoma, Allen didn't enjoy the same strong supporting cast at Wyoming.

Allen was viewed as an unpolished prospect, but he oozed upside.

"Many will make excuses for Allen's struggles (two-year starter at Wyoming, poor supporting cast, etc.), but evaluators are taught to see Allen's strengths, and he has plenty of those," draft analyst Matt Miller wrote for Bleacher Report in 2018.

If we're looking at Willis' strengths, there's a lot to love.

"When Willis is in rhythm, his arm strength pops off the screen. He throws a catchable deep ball and can drive intermediate throws into tight spaces," Tice wrote.

"This is a dual-threat signal-caller—he rushed for 1,822 yards and 27 touchdowns over the past two seasons—with a powerful arm," Kiper wrote.

While the lack of polish is a concern, it was for Allen too. And that rawness showed early in his Bills career. As a rookie, Allen completed 52.8 percent of his passes and posted a passer rating of only 67.9. Over the next three years, though, Allen realized his upside. Over Super Wild Card Weekend, he pitched the NFL equivalent of a perfect game.

Against Jones' Patriots, Allen finished 21-of-25 for 308 yards and five touchdowns. He rushed for 66 yards. Buffalo finished every single drive with either a touchdown or a kneel-down—an NFL first.

The Buffalo Bills just had the NFL’s first ever perfect offensive game.

No punts. No picks. No fumbles lost. No field goals. All touchdowns on every single drive until the kneel downs.

And they did it against a top five defense.

— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) January 16, 2022

Players like Allen, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow are what modern NFL teams want and need at the quarterback position. Unpolished or not, if a team believes that Willis can reach that level, it will take an early flier on him.

    

"Quarterback-Needy Teams Should See Plenty of Allen in Willis"

There will undoubtedly be a subsection of NFL scouts, media members and draft Twitter that view Willis as too risky of a prospect. The Auburn transfer made his fair share of mistakes in college—he had 12 interceptions in 2021 and poor outings against Mississippi, Army and Louisiana Lafayette.

Detractors will focus on the negatives and ignore how Willis' small-school supporting cast played a part in them.

As CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso pointed out, though, Allen serves as an example of why this can be a faulty viewpoint.

"Quarterback-needy teams should see plenty of Allen in Willis," Trapasso wrote. "No, he's not as big. He doesn't quite have Allen's arm. But parallels between the two are there, critical ones."

As Trapasso explained, Willis has plenty of strengths, and his weaknesses showed up primarily against teams with superior talent. On an even playing field, he shined:

"Willis has game-altering arm talent, and he's a dynamic, powerful runner with the football in his hands. His decision-making is questionable at times. He played at a smaller school. His auditions against Power 5 schools were duds. All very Allen-like.

"... The fact was, in contests in which Wyoming had talent close to its opponent, Allen was mostly good and at times spectacular. That's precisely how I felt watching Willis' outings against Troy, Old Dominion, Syracuse, UAB, and Eastern Michigan."

Like Allen, Willis may struggle early in the NFL. That reality is likely to scare away a few teams who are looking for an immediate starter and looking to win now. Teams willing to be patient—as the Bills were with Allen—could see him as a future star.

    

"Quarterback Mobility Is Valued"

So where might Willis land on draft weekend? That depends entirely on which teams are willing to pull the trigger early. Given the importance of the quarterback position, though, it's hard to envision him lasting until the third round.

And if a team views Willis as worthy of a second-round selection, he could end up going in Round 1. Teams love to land the fifth-year option that comes with a first-round selection. Even if a team isn't willing to use an initial first-round pick on Willis, one may still trade back into the bottom of Round 1 to grab him—as the Baltimore Ravens did with Jackson.

A few teams stand out as logical landing spots for Willis. Washington, as Kiper noted, has a stopgap in place in Taylor Heinicke. It could afford to develop Willis for a year before turning him loose.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a similar situation with Mason Rudolph and/or Dwayne Haskins (restricted free agent)—though neither is the mobile quarterback that head coach Mike Tomlin would love to get.

Tomlin, yet again, makes it clear he wants next QB to be mobile.

"Man, quarterback mobility is valued."

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) January 18, 2022

The Cleveland Browns could be a dark-horse candidate. They'll have Baker Mayfield on that fifth-year option in 2022. However, Mayfield hasn't established himself as a top-tier signal-caller. If Cleveland chooses to take a page out of Philadelphia's book, it could snag Willis in Round 2 or the bottom of Round 1 as insurance.

The Eagles had Carson Wentz as their starter when they took Hurts 53rd overall in 2020.

The Atlanta Falcons have 36-year-old Matt Ryan under contract through 2023 but no decisive succession plan in place. 2021 undrafted free agent Feleipe Franks probably isn't the answer there.

Willis would provide valuable dual-threat ability that Washington, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Cleveland don't have at the quarterback position. His combination of mobility and arm talent is exactly what players like Allen, Mahomes, Burrow and Aaron Rodgers are about to flash in the divisional round of the playoffs.

In the NFL, you either have an elite quarterback or you don't. Not everyone will agree that Willis can become one, but he's going to have enough believers on draft weekend to wind up as one of the first signal-callers off the board.

The 2022 NFL draft class isn't littered with elite quarterback prospects, but ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. still has four going in the first round of his initial mock draft.

The draft guru has the Washington Football Team grabbing Liberty's Malik Willis at No. 11 overall, Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett going No. 18 to the New Orleans Saints, Ole Miss' Matt Corral going two picks later to the Steelers and North Carolina's Sam Howell rounding things out at No. 28 with the Detroit Lions. 

No consensus has been struck on which quarterback will go off the board first in April's draft—nor is it clear where the quarterbacks will land. The Lions are the only team selecting a quarterback in Kiper's mock we can reasonably rule out of trading for a veteran option.

The Steelers and Saints likely fashion themselves as Super Bowl contenders with a top-flight quarterback, and it's unlikely Washington wants to go into the third year of Ron Rivera's tenure with uncertainty at the position. While Detroit is certainly a potential landing spot for one of the names, it seems more likely the team uses 2022 as another rebuilding year before landing its quarterback of the future near the top of the 2023 draft.

Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson are among the top names who could be available via trade this offseason. Even if both stay put, names like Matt Ryan, Jimmy Garoppolo, Kirk Cousins and Derek Carr could make the rounds.

Once the veteran quarterback situations are played out, Kiper seems to be honing in on Willis as his top quarterback. The draft guru highlights Willis' huge arm and scrambling ability, calling him the "most talented quarterback in this class."

While the Liberty product does not have much high-profile experience under his belt, he could be this year's Trey Lance, who starred at FCS South Dakota State before going No. 3 overall to the San Francisco 49ers. 

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. released his first mock draft for the 2022 NFL draft on Wednesday, with Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson going to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 1 overall pick.

Another edge-rusher, Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux, is predicted by Kiper to land with the Detroit Lions at No. 2.

Here's a look at the top five selections:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan

2. Detroit Lions: Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oregon

3. Houston Texans: Evan Neal, OT, Alabama

4. New York Jets: Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame

5. New York Giants: Ikem Ekwonu, OT, NC State

The first quarterback doesn't come off the board until No. 11, when the Washington Football Team selects Liberty signal-caller Malik Willis.

Hutchinson and Thibodeaux will headline the pre-draft process as they fight for the top spot on the board. They are both potentially game-changing players, and Jacksonville needs a few of those on both sides of the ball before it turns the corner toward contention.

The other option for the Jags is to take an offensive tackle to protect the blind side for quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was sacked 32 times and faced consistent pressure as a rookie, which played a role in the lackluster numbers posted by last year's No. 1 pick.

Another weapon on the outside for Lawrence is also on the team's wishlist, but no offensive playmaking prospect has emerged as an option in the top spot at this stage. So, at least for now, it appears the Jaguars will end up taking one of the two edge-rushers.

Meanwhile, the Lions would love if there was a ready-made franchise quarterback available at No. 2, but it would take a standout performance from Willis or one of the other prospects over the next few months to warrant taking that early in the draft.

Other signal-callers to watch include UNC's Sam Howell, Ole Miss' Matt Corral and Pitt's Kenny Pickett. A strong showing from any of them during the pre-draft workouts could send them rocketing up the board and into Detroit's conversation with the No. 2 choice.

If that doesn't happen, the Lions will likely select whichever one of the top defensive ends is still on the board after Jacksonville makes it choice. Detroit then owns the Los Angeles Rams' first-round pick, which will be somewhere late in the round and more in the wheelhouse to take a QB.

Perhaps the most notable big-picture takeaway from Kiper's first mock draft is the limited number of high-end offensive skill players in this year's class. His projections include no running backs in the first round, no tight end until the No. 32 pick and no wide receivers until No. 10.

The teams that will benefit are those looking to upgrade in the trenches, especially the defensive front seven, which makes up more than a third (11 of 32) of Kiper's predicted picks.

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio said Tuesday he'd consider trading the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Caserio explained his mindset about this year's draft during an appearance on SportsRadio 610 (via Chase Goodbread of NFL.com):

Absolutely. Always open for business. You never want to limit yourself. I've always been open-minded when it comes to the draft. ... Every team and every individual has a different philosophy. 'We're not gonna trade, we're always going to pick, we're not going to move.' I think we're a little bit more open-minded, progressive thinking, move up and down. And it's not just move to move.

The Texans are coming off a 4-13 season to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year. They posted a 4-12 mark in 2020.

Houston played the entire campaign without quarterback Deshaun Watson, who remained on the team's active roster but was declared inactive on gamedays amid investigations into 22 civil lawsuits and 10 criminal complaints filed against him by women alleging sexual assault and misconduct.

Rookie third-round pick Davis Mills received a majority of the playing time to fill the void under center, and he put together a solid year, completing 66.8 percent of his throws for 2,664 yards with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions across 13 appearances.

In a year without a standout quarterback prospect, the Texans may opt to give Mills another season to prove himself while trying to upgrade their roster in other areas.

Caserio noted on SportsRadio 610 there are several different factors to consider with potentially moving the No. 3 pick:

Trades, specific to the draft, are always driven by A) player availability, B) where are you moving, what are you moving away from, and then C) what are you getting in return in terms of assets that can potentially fill out the rest of your team. So we're rolling up our sleeves right now, going through that draft process. There's a number of a good players that will be available. Again, we're open for business on anything.

If Thibodeaux and Hutchinson are both off the board by the time Houston is on the clock, the decision will likely come down to taking an offensive tackle or trading the pick.

Alabama's Evan Neal headlines a strong group of tackles and could be the choice if Houston stays put.

The Texans' roster needs quite a bit of work to get back into contention, however, so trading the No. 3 pick for multiple future assets could be the move. At minimum, it sounds like Caserio will do his due diligence in trying to find a trade that can help accelerate the team's rebuild.

HEIGHT: 6'3 7/8"

WEIGHT: 314

HAND: 10"

ARM: 33 1/4"

WINGSPAN: 6'8 5/8"

40-YARD DASH: 5.14

3-CONE: DNP

SHUTTLE: DNP

VERTICAL: 25.5"

BROAD: 8'11"

POSITIVES

— Massive frame and build, with the girth to square up and engulf defenders at the point of attack.

— Rugged, tone-setting demeanor with very good natural power and play strength to back it up.

— Good length with heavy hands to deliver jarring force on contact, hoist, uproot and displace defenders on base and double-team blocks on inside-zone and duo concepts.

— Does a solid job with his angles to line up targets on the move and can blot them out once attached.

— Stays vigilant when engaged in pass protection to diagnose, peel off and plug adjacent gaps against loopers.

— Difficult obstacle to work around in protection, with the size and length to press and widen rushers who get to his edge.

— Has the power in his hands and upper body to stun and bend back rushers when he connects inside.

NEGATIVES

— Marginal athletic ability, lateral quickness and ability to redirect.

— A little sluggish getting out of his stance, opened up and to top speed on the move.

— Often late, wide or high with his hands, which negates his ability to control and sustain blocks.

— Allows interior rushers to gain control of his frame and pry him open in his anchor.

— Tends to lean in the run game, leaving him vulnerable to getting shed off-balance and having to grab to sustain blocks.

2021 STATISTICS

- 15 starts at left guard.

- Second-team All-SEC selection.

NOTES

— Former 3-star offensive line prospect out of Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood, Georgia.

— 26 career starts, with 25 at left guard and one at right guard.

— Training with Duke Manyweather in Dallas in preparation for the draft.

— Invited and accepted an invite to the 2022 Senior Bowl.

OVERALL

Justin Shaffer was a two-year, 26-game starter primarily at left guard inside Georgia's power run game, which was predicated off a heavy dose of inside-zone, duo and gap concepts. 

Shaffer has a massive, thick build with good length and an attacking, physical demeanor. He has very good play strength and natural power in his hands to bang and displace defenders on gap run concepts, with the ability to bulldoze defenders in space. He takes efficient angles on the move to have a better hit rate in space than his marginal athletic ability would indicate, showing effectiveness as a puller and climbing off double-teams.Shaffer uses his outstanding girth, good length and a jarring punch to obstruct rushers in pass protection, with the alertness to quickly diagnose games and pick up late loopers. However, he struggles to redirect due to his marginal agility and lateral quickness, limiting his ability to power-step, recover and cut off shifty rushers or connect at the second level against 'backers with a quick trigger.Overall, Shaffer is a hulking presence on the interior with excellent size, play strength and physicality to displace interior defenders in the run game and be a difficult obstacle to work around in pass protection. His middling athletic ability and quickness will limit his scheme versatility and effectiveness against premier and sub-package rushers, while he'll need to clean up his use of hands and tendency to lean.

Shaffer's stature, demeanor and ability to impose his will should allow him to compete for a backup role in a downhill run scheme early in his career.

GRADE: 6.5 (Potential Role Player - 4th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 156

POSITION RANK: IOL19

PRO COMPARISON: John Simpson

Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn